Garth Brooks Forced to Cancel Upcoming Tampa Tour Dates

Garth Brooks fans in Florida will unfortunately have to travel out of state to catch the superstar and wife Trisha Yearwood this summer, as Brooks' upcoming World Tour dates in Tampa have been canceled.

But while it's a bummer music for country fans, the reason behind the cancelation is exciting for the city, as their NHL team the Tampa Bay Lightning are in the Stanley Cup Finals. As a result, the hockey team will play a game at the Amalie Arena on June 6 — the same day Brooks was booked to play the same venue. The singer has been on the marquee for a trio of performances there since March; he was set to perform June 5 at 7PM and June 6 at 7PM and 10:30PM.

The hockey game overrides his scheduled tour dates, however, and while it wasn't an easy decision to cancel, Brooks understands why it was necessary. The star (with Yearwood) released the following statement to fans on his website:

“First of all, we would all like to congratulate the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks for reaching the Stanley Cup Final. As we now know, Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is being played on Saturday, June 6th. All parties looked into moving Saturday’s two Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood shows to Sunday. The issue of getting the network crews and their gear out of the building and getting our crews and gear into the building late Saturday/early Sunday for two shows on Sunday raises serious safety concerns. It is because of those safety concerns that the choice is being made to refund all shows and reschedule depending on finding a date that works for both the arena and the tour.

This was a hard decision for everyone. We would like to thank Elmer Straub at Amalie Arena and Tod Leiweke with the Tampa Bay Lightning for working around the clock for the last 48 hours to find a remedy for the situation. We personally know Gary Bettman and are very familiar with the League and its players, coaches, and staff…they are all stand-up people. We are convinced everything that could have been done was done to try to remedy the situation. Congrats again to the City of Tampa, good luck, and we will be watching the series!!!”

Fans who followed Brooks' Ireland concert fiasco in 2014 will recall how dedicated the singer is to doing everything in his power for his fans. Unfortunately, this situation was unavoidable. Brooks and Yearwood will pick up their tour again on June 12 in Birmingham, Ala., where they'll play two shows in the city's Legacy Arena. Dates are announced regularly — check back to Taste of Country to see where Brooks will perform next.